Softball player gives ‘110 percent’ to MCLA experience

12/10/14

As a child, Alexandra Romano ’17 of Peabody, Mass., was very shy – so shy that she spent her time on the school bus writing in a notebook instead of talking to the other children. Fast forward a decade. She hosts a campus radio show, is involved in theatre and is a student-athlete on the women’s softball team.

What hasn’t changed, however, is Romano’s love of writing. She’s an English major with a concentration in creative writing, and a minor in Spanish. Next fall, she will study in Spain, where she plans to spend a semester abroad.

A member of MCLA’s Radio Club, Romano’s show, “The Bucket,” which she co-hosts with two of her friends, is on every Tuesday night from 7-9 p.m. The show features a variety of genres – from jazz and country to pop and punk.

Romano also is active in the Harlequin Musical Theater Club on campus, and was a LEAD Academy participant. In addition, she’s a Writing Associate on campus.

“College is a lot different than I thought it would be. High school seemed to be more about getting the grades, while college to me is more about trying to get the most out of it. I am a perfectionist, so I do put 110 percent into everything I do. The learning style is different in college,” Romano said.

In addition to her love of writing, Romano brought another childhood passion to MCLA – softball.

“I have played baseball or softball, starting with tee ball, since I was about 4. I love the game,” she said.

However, she found her high school softball experience to be unsatisfying. Despite the fact that she made the varsity team as a freshman, by the end of her junior year, she “hated going to practice,” due to social politics. Refusing to quit the game she loved, her involvement in the sport took a turn for the better after she was recruited by MCLA to play on the women’s softball team.

“I wouldn't play anywhere else,” Romano said. “Here, the girls are so much nicer than on some other teams I've played on! They are so accepting.”

Romano loves getting dirty when she plays.

“When I don’t, I feel like I didn’t get to play as hard as I can,” she said. Although she’s covered positions ranging from shortstop to second base and the outfield for the Trailblazers, she started as the team’s right fielder at the end of the last season.

“It was so exciting for me,” she said.

One of the first things Romano noticed about MCLA was friendliness of everyone on campus.

“I soon realized that it was not that artificial friendly that you find anywhere where you put a bunch of people that don't know each other in the same place and tell them they have to live with each other,” she said.

“The people here are sincerely nice, and they really want the best for you – from the cafeteria workers to the leaders on campus to the professors and staff,” Romano added. “I find myself getting noticed and remembered here.”